It's Cold, I'm Cold!

 Yes, Once again.. I am complaining about how cold the east coast is..

Ok.. ✅ I get it.. I am still acclimating to this area and I haven't gotten there yet! 

Having dreams of Florida and its wonderful comfort and its warm weather just keeps running through my mind. Why are we here in Virginia again? Oh yeah, Henry is a Marine and Uncle Sam says so!

We are in an area that has the Back Bay behind us and the Ocean is to the east of us about 3 blocks away.. and it we are surrounded by water.. moisture and with the cold, it has added a higher level of Chill in the air around us and with my arthritis.. ouch is my mantra! 

With the weather going funky, we are learning to make sure that we have protected the water and power lines coming into our RV as well as learning that the new type of water heater we have is protected. We have never had this type of system and making sure we are protecting all the items as we should.

Since we got home 🏠 Henry hasn't been well. He has been having abdominal pain that we at first thought it was just him eating way to quickly and from time to time would have to give him TUMS to help ease the hurts however, the pain started to shift and became more intense. At one point he noticed that one of his testicles had grown in size and there was a sizable lump located present and as he was still having sharp pains, he went in to speak with his Military Doctor, at first it was thought of quickly as a "groin strain" .. or pulled muscle due to us moving from one location and into a new RV quickly, leaving the idea that he may have lifted something heavy or incorrectly, causing this current issue. He was given SIQ (Sick in Quarters) time to stay home and rest to allow the symptoms to ease and hopefully he would find himself better in a few days. 

Over the weekend, the Pain doubled and so did the swelling.  The concern went from being a strain to possible hernia and Henry needed to be seen for an Ultrasound quickly. One of the issues with the area that we are located is.. we are military and military family heavy with limited facility personnel available to get him in to the local hospital, 🏥 we had to drive to another base and another to get more and more testing done.. as what was first thought and hoped for changed 3 times over. 

Ladies and Gents.. we have multiple conversation over the years about Women's Health.. Breast Health.. and such..Little is ever discussed that I have seen about taking care of our "MEN"!

As I am sitting here in the waiting room.. waiting once again for my husband to go through another test and soon to be another..I think of how simple we forget that these men are not super heroes and need to be taken care of too!

First testing came back that it is not a hernia but, what is known as :varicocele/ Varicoceles are found through self-exam of the scrotum or during a routine doctor's exam. They have been described as a “bag of worms” because of how they look and feel. Urologists often check for varicoceles with the patient standing.

Usually, there isn't concern about this issue as the swelling tends to go away over time unless the swelling hints to other issues such as possible growths in the abdomen that could be creating this issue in the first place. This became the biggest concern from the doctors and we were sent off to have more scans MRI, CT Scans .. to get more pictures of what is going on inside Henry's body. 

As the days would pass.. and still no defining word or understanding as to what was happening, we just held on to each other and not wanting to talk about what could be a possibility and how it could change our lives and future.

As to the other things that came up was a unknown ulcer... He was put on Prilosec and a few days later was removed to the findings that he has an allergic reaction to the active ingredient of that medication. What will we discover next! 

Still taking TUMS as we wait to see a gastroenterologist to help with this issue, we are also scheduled for surgery in the upcoming weeks to take care of the testicular swelling. The time that comes from learning about what could happen surely brings the understanding of how precious the time you have truly is. 

There is still much for us to get clarification on.. we are waiting for them to tell us about what the scans have shown and what we are to do next.. this has led me to feel lost and overwhelmed..I spent days.. worried about what could be wrong and how I would need to hold it together so he wouldn't see me cry.. 

I worried about him being sick and him having to deal with all that comes along with the differing treatments that are current these days. I felt sick knowing how painful they could be and wishing and praying God would take that away. 

Thank you God for this and these small moments..they are truly precious to me!

Welp, back home it is.. 

Have plenty of work to do an another storm is on its way, im dreaming of warm weather and getting back on the water with the kayaks again. 

While we wait.. we will still live!

Take care of yourselves my fellow ramblers.. know your precious!

Robyn